


Halloween Party

by krushnicc



Series: No Need for Science [1]
Category: The Black Tapes Podcast
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, PNWS Interns - Freeform, Slow Burn, everyone knows and ships Alex and Strand
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-17 17:58:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17565287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/krushnicc/pseuds/krushnicc
Summary: The first time the Interns played matchmaker was at the company's Halloween party.





	Halloween Party

**Author's Note:**

> I always love this kinds of prompts so I wanted to do one where the interns are involved. I don't know the interns' names in the actual podcast so I made my own. It's a group of 9 who have been a year or more into the internship so they know Alex and Nic really well.
> 
> They also really love Alex and they like Richard Strand enough to think these two are too dumb to realize that they're good together.
> 
> BETA'd: January 31, 2019

Halloween is one holiday the interns of Pacific Northwest Stories office love. Love is an understatement. They enjoy decorating the lobby, the break-room, the producers’ offices and their desks—it’s a group effort they do on top of assisting everyone in the studio. Sometimes they go a little overboard with the décor, Nic banned them after they decorated his room with hundreds of dolls and freaked when he turned on the lights on the first day of October. The scream can probably shatter glass.

In their defense, they didn’t think Nic had a doll phobia.

After that fiasco, interns have to discuss their Halloween ideas with Nic and Alex and this year they opted for an eighties horror theme but without demons for the sake of Alex… Nic jokingly protested during the meeting they never considered his sanity and the interns said, ‘we like Alex.’ Nic rolled his eyes and Alex laughed.

To prepare for the month long festivity, they a schedule in place. For two weeks in September, they purchase, create and collect their décor; set shifts for which room to decorate per day; and plan the most awaited Halloween party. PNWS Halloween parties are notorious for several reasons: it’s a costume party (the best costumes win $200, funded by the head producers) and there’re copious amounts of booze, which my god, everyone needs the alcohol after the past few months. Every year, interns that came after Nic and Alex’s batch always try to one-up the party from eons ago. The one they planned was a legend among the interns. Alex got a few big name celebrities to perform at the celebration like New Mafia, 23XYZ and Kid Saga. 

This year, not only are they trying to make sure they have a great Halloween party but the interns have another plan they want to come in fruition which will involve more strategic planning. They believe, is the perfect set-up for Doctor Richard Strand and Miss Alex Reagan to finally realized their god-damn feelings for each other.

* * *

In between the work they do for PNWS and the higher-ups, tending to the podcast shows, social media accounts and the errands they do on a daily, they are on top of their game with finding the pieces they need decorating and flipping the studio into Halloween wonderland.

One day, Strand walks in on two interns in the staff break-room working on putting together mannequins into iconic eighties monsters. They didn’t notice him at first until he clears his throat but no one turned around, they waved their hands and greeted him dryly, ‘hey, doctor Strand.’

“Isn’t it a little early to celebrate Halloween?” Strand asks looking between the interns.

“Doctor Strand, you wouldn’t understand how important this holiday is to us,” Jake adjusted a hockey mask on the mannequin and doesn’t look at Strand. “Halloween to us is Christmas to kids.” Jake admires his work and turns the finished mannequin towards Strand. “Isn’t he pretty? He’s ready to chase teenagers and murder!” Strand shakes his head, hiding a small smile.

“The studio pays for your time for… This?” Strand asks, crossing his arm.

“Alex and Nic are the reasons the PNWS even has holiday staff parties. They’re gods and legends,” Anna chimes in. “She is the reason there’s a certain level to achieve for any celebration in the office. She’s so rad!”

And as if she has a ‘Strand-is-Present Radar’, Alex enters the break-room singing This is Halloween Town as loud as she can but stumbles and mumble the words when she sees Strand across her with a amused look on his face. She clears her throat, “Hey! I-I didn’t see you there…” The interns, saying nothing, she is blushing.

“I clearly heard you though,” Strand responds. Jake looks over to Anna and she gives him a smirk, they pretend to not care for the interaction between the two.

Alex tries to recover, “Uh.. Did you eat yet?”

Anna pretends to grab something from behind her and sees Strand adjust his glasses and stand taller as if he’s not already tall. “I had a Kind bar on the way here.”

“Perfect. I brought an extra lunch and um… Well, I meant to share it with Nic but, uh, he brought his own so… You can have it if you like and I’m not forcing you but you know… Kind bars aren’t that fulfilling… As much as we advertise how good it is.” Alex rambles and Jake tries to stifle his laughter. Strand walks between the working interns to follow Alex to her office to eat lunch together and when they left the room, Jake and Anna looked at each other.

“They’re so in love,” Anna says.

“And soooo dumb,” Jake adds, making Anna hum in agreement as they put the final touches on their mannequins.

* * *

On the first day of October, they finished decorating the PNWS studio, and each room decorated with elaborate Halloween décor. They based each office space on a classic horror movie and tried their best to see which space describes the people that work in that area. The interns were “nice” to Nic and adorned his room as Camp Crystal Lake while they placed a framed image of Chuck on his desk for shits and giggles. Nic responded by throwing paper balls at the interns for a week. They decorated Alex’s office as the cabin from The Evil Dead (minus the demons) and gifted her with a life-size cutout of Bruce Campbell. She responded by taking lots of selfies with Bruce. They decked the conference room, where Strand sometimes hangs out in, as the hotel from The Shining complete with the wallpaper design on the walls (they had to bribe Paul to allow it).

One day, Strand came to the office to work with Nic, the interns masqueraded around the office with white sheets over them with holes for their eyes. Strand, which surprised them, took his phone out and took a photo of them hanging out around the hallway. The interns like to think they made Strand smile. Alex, who wasn’t in the office that day, didn’t know what the interns did as they only planned to wear the sheets when Strand was around so when she mentioned it to them the next day, they mused that Strand and Alex chat much more often outside of work.

For this next phase, they had to include Nic without Alex’s knowledge. So they emailed him.

_To: Nic Silver_   
_From: Austin_   
_CC: Jake, Anna, Sophia, Dave, Sarah, Violet, Jonesy, AJ_   
_Subject: Hallo-Stragan_

_Dearest Wonderful Nic,_

_We’ll keep it short and simple…_   
_We’re trying to hook Strand and Alex up, you in?_

_Regards,_   
_Internz_

 

_To: Austin_   
_From: Nic Silver_   
_CC: Jake, Anna Sophia, Dave, Sarah, Violet, Jonesy, AJ_   
_Subject: RE: Hallo-Stragan_

_You’re what!?_

_Guys, Strand is a subject of our podcast. We can’t have him and Alex having personal affairs… It’s not ethical._

_To: Austin_   
_From: Nic Silver_   
_CC: Jake, Anna, Sophia, Dave, Sarah, Violet, Jonesy, AJ_   
_Subject: RE: Hallo-Stragan_

_Lawl, I’m kidding. I’m in!_

_The interns took a collective sigh of relief because for a second there reading Nic’s first response; they thought they would get the boot._

_“Oh my god… I almost peed my pants there,” AJ says._

_“Ahh!” Violet, Sophia and Sarah cheer. “Stragan! Stragan! Stragan!”_

_To: Nic_   
_From: Dave_   
_CC: Austin, Jake, Anna, Sophia, Sarah, Violet, Jonesy, AJ_   
_Subject: RE:RE: Hallo-Stragan_

_Hey Nic!_

_We’ll be meeting at The Hive after work for planning._   
_See ya there!_

_Dave_

 

* * *

 

The interns decided that Nic will be the middle-man to convince Alex to invite Strand to the PNWS Halloween Party. And without their knowledge, Nic also asked Ruby, Strand’s right hand from the Strand Institute, to join. She eagerly agreed with coaxing (she wants photos of Strand in costume).

“Who are you taking to the party?” Nic asks Alex while they were in the editing room. Alex furrows her eyebrows.

“Uh… Hmm… I don’t know,” she shrugs without taking her eyes off the computer screen. “You?”

“I might ask this girl I’ve been talking to on Tinder.” Nic stops editing and leans back on his chair. “Why don’t you ask Strand?” Which makes Alex whip her head towards Nic with her mouth open.

“That’s weird. He probably doesn’t like parties, especially Halloween parties.”

“He’s not that old Alex. It doesn’t hurt to ask.”

“Then why don’t you ask him?”

“Because I’m not as close as I am with him like you,” Nic scoffs. “You guys are practically friends, right?”

“Well… We’re close but not that ‘hey-wanna-go-to-my-company’s-party’ close. Plus,” Alex rests her chin on her hand as she continues to edit the transcript. “Will Strand even come in costume? It’s a costume only party.”

“He can come as Clark Kent working for the Planet,” Nic jokes and Alex rolls her eyes.

* * *

 

As the days go by and the party comes closer, the interns couldn’t get any updates from Nic, who said he tried bringing it up but Alex would just shut it down. Are they worried? Not really. Maybe just a little concerned because their plan would be in vain and seriously, Strand and Alex need to date or kiss because the copious amount of eye-sex they give each other can cause anyone to roll their eyes and even make a ghost conjure the energy to slap their heads simultaneously. Three days before the Halloween bash, Alex hasn’t had the time or the courage to ask Strand about it and they collectively groaned.

So the interns conjured the courage and take matters in their hands. Violet decided that when Strand comes in the studio, she’ll invite him herself with the pretense that the company wants Dr. Strand to be there as their main celebrity. When he showed up that afternoon, Violet pounced and politely rejected.

AJ and Jonesy decided that they need to create a faux invitation to add urgency and convinced Paul to send it to a bunch of their important clients, sponsors and special guests from over the months and years. Strand thanks Paul and politely declined the invite.

Sarah and Dave tried to conduct a conversation with Strand in the break-room while he waited for Alex and Nic to finish recording in the studio. Dave asked if he’s ever dressed for Halloween and Strand dryly replied with, “Yes, when I was nine.” They didn’t know if they wanted to continue with their plan so they said, ‘Ah.’ They slowly backed away.

“I can’t tell if Dr. Strand is an introvert, or he just hates people,” Sophia sighs into her coffee mug.

“He likes Alex though,” AJ says and everyone chimes in with ‘right, right.

“Alex won’t invite him,” Dave says. “I asked Nic earlier, and he says she doesn’t know how to ask ‘a man of three degrees and refined taste to a Halloween party surrounded by people in costumes and debauchery.’”

“No one is above college-frat parties,” Jake jokes.

It got quiet in the break-room for a few seconds until Anna breaks the silence with her idea. And the interns were so desperate, they decided it was worth the risk.

* * *

 

The interns transformed the studio’s garage space into the venue which saves them a lot of money and gives them a bigger space to work with than the usual bar. For drinks, they sent out solicitation letters to alcohol distributors and because of their reputation (as one of the best audio production company and the company that parties hard) the companies they solicited did not hold back. It worried Paul and Terry with the insane amount of alcohol that arrived at the studio three days prior but the interns just shrugged their shoulders as they continued to decorate and prepare. Decorating was easy for them because another reason they held the party at the studio’s garage is so they can easily transfer the decoration in the studio to the garage without making multiple trips with their cars.

The garage transformed into a haven for any classic horror fan. Each corner had a themed: serial killers and camps, zombies and forests, aliens and monsters, vengeful ghosts and high schools. On stage, the interns designed it to look like the crowning of Carrie on prom night from the film Carrie and opted out of copying the bloody scene because they will not clean up buckets of blood the next day. They might not have gotten a live band but the DJ they hired played a mix of old and new party songs, the catered food was delicious, the ambiance is awesome and the seemingly endless supply of alcohol is… perfect.

Now it was just time to play the waiting game.

“You guys are in high spirits!” Nic, dressed as Batman, cocks his head to the side looking at the interns. “What are you guys up to?” They quietly laughed in unison and shrugged their shoulders. “I swear you guys get really freaky around October…”

“Just enjoy the party, boss man!” Austin, dressed as Captain America, exclaims. “Drinks are a-flowing and the music is bumping!!” Nic raises his glass to that and walks away from the interns’ table.

“Do you think he’ll actually come?” Sarah, dressed as a Hades, asks. “What if he calls Alex about it? What if Alex gets really mad?”

“What did you guys do?” Alex, dressed as Lara Croft, squeezes her way in the middle of the interns and they jumped a little. Sarah claps her hand over mouth, wide eyed. “Are you guys planning a prank on me?!”

“Uh.. Uhm.. No?” Austin tries to save face. He darts his eyes between Jake and Anna, who are both dressed as Team Rocket, to swoop in for a diversion.

“We’re planning a prank on Nic tonight and well, Sarah wondered if you’ll be mad about it because you two are best friends…” Sophia, dressed as a murdered school girl, cuts in.

Alex fake gasps. “You guys know I’m all about pranking Nic! I’m a little hurt you guys didn’t include me in this but what is it?”

“Ummmm,” AJ, dressed as Black Panther, and Jonesy, dressed as Dwight from The Office wearing a pumpkin, say in unison.

“Well, we can’t really say it because, because we’re still in the… planning stages!” Austin adds and the interns all bob their heads, Alex suspiciously looking at each of their faces and pointing at them squinting her eyes. “We promise it’s nothing bad!”

“Yeah, it’s totally harmless,” Sarah finally says and nervously grins.

“Alriiight,” Alex clicks her tongue. “Whatever it is, I want in when you guys finish planning, ok?” Alex puts her hand in front of her and urges the interns to place theirs on top of hers. “Promise?”

“Promise,” the interns say in unison and Alex saunters away from the group. They collectively let out an exhale.

An hour into the party and no sign of Strand, which was making the interns lose hope. But then Violet noticed it and pointed at the door. Everyone follows her finger.

“Oh,” Violet, dressed as a priest, starts.

“My,” Austin, Jonesy, AJ and Dave continued.

“God,” Jake, Sophia, Anna and Sarah end with their mouths hanging open.

They knew it was him. Even if the costume obstructs the view of the person, it was Dr. Richard Strand under the fucking white sheet with two holes only for the eyes. He stands by the entrance while a few visitors straggle inside the garage. Strand scans the room and when he sees who he wanted to see, he walks to her.

“Besides the white sheet, he’s wearing contacts!?” Jonesy points out.

“I can’t believe he fucking did it!?” Sophia exclaims in disbelief.

“I have to get a picture of this,” Anna and Sarah take their phones out in unison.

Their eyes followed Strand, dressed as a ghost, walk towards Alex. Before the Strand gets close, the interns discreetly gravitated towards the table Alex was standing next to. Her back facing Strand. Anna and Sarah guided their phone to follow Strand. The interns held their breath when the familiar deep baritone say its most favorite word (second to apophenia).

“Alex.”

They watched as Alex turns around, holding a drink in one hand, a huge grin on her face.

“Hi!” She reaches in to kiss the person’s cheek. The interns think she just reached Strand’s shoulder? Strand is so tall and with the sheet covering his body, you can’t tell what body part you will hit or in Alex’s case, kiss.

“She doesn’t know it’s Strand!” Austin whispers in glee.

“Nice costume! Our interns wore that exact costume few weeks ago, and it was so hilarious seeing a bunch of them in it. I hope you’re enjoying the party!” Alex drinks from her cup.

“She really doesn’t know it’s Strand! She hasn’t said his name at all.” AJ says.

“Alex,” Strand continues. “It’s me.” Alex leans in closer as the blaring music isn’t letting her hear at full capacity.

“Huh?”

“It’s Richard Strand.” And the interns lose it as soon as it dawned on Alex what she had just heard. She slowly pulls away and really looks until Richard pulls the sheet off of him and Alex squeals a little, placing a hand over her mouth at the reveal.

“Holy-Oh my- Richard!?” Alex stammers. “What’re you doing here!?”

“You invited me?”

“I-I invited you?” Alex’s eyes go wide. “I… Oh my god…”

“I take it you didn’t send that email?” Strand asks. Alex slowly shakes her head but then it came to her realization who have are the culprits. She turns her head and eyes the interns standing a little way from where she and Strand were. “Alex?”

“Those bastards,” Alex glares at the interns, who innocently just wave their hands at her. Strand follows where Alex’s eyes land on and he lets out a small chuckle. Alex quickly snaps her attention back to Strand. “Man, I am so sorry, Richard… I’m sure this isn’t your kind of scene and if you feel uncom-”

“Miss Reagan, if you don’t want me to stay, I can go,” Strand replies. Alex shakes her head.

“You can go if you want to but… I, um, would love for you to stay,” Alex says.

Strand gives her a small smile. “Then I’ll stay.” They look at each other for a second until Strand clears his throat, “Well, I guess I’ll put the costume back on. It is, after all, a costume party.” Alex laughs.

“Seriously, the best costume I’ve seen all night.”

-

 

_To: Richard Strand_   
_From: Alex Reagan_   
_BCC: Austin, AJ, Jonesy, Dave, Jake, Sophia, Sarah, Anna, Violet_   
_Subject: Halloween plans_

_Hi Richard,_

_Do you have any plans for Halloween? If you don’t, would you like to be my plus one to our PNWS Annual Halloween Party? I’d love for you to come and party with me. It’ll be a nice break from our case and I’ll get a kick out of your costume choice!_

_Thanks!_

_Regards,_   
_Alex_

_P.S. If you need a costume idea, just go as a ghost like the one the interns wore._   
_P.P.S. I already put you as my plus one_   
_P.P.P.S. I’ve checked with Ruby and she says you’re free that night and the next day so you can’t say you’re busy._

**Author's Note:**

> There will be more!!! 
> 
> Thank you for reading; it seriously means a lot when people read my fic. I'm not the best writer but I am trying and only hope to improve even more in this craft.
> 
> Edit: I posted this around 4am (my region time) that I was quickly trying to post and quickly get to bed because I work in a few hours lololol 
> 
> Here's some quick notes about the interns:  
> • Austin: has been an intern for 3 years (he started in his freshman year and practically begged Paul and Terry to allow him to be apart of the internship even though he had to be a sophomore) // He wasn't a "Stragan" shipper at first believing that Dr. Strand was too standoffish to be good enough for Alex but he's seen some moments between Strand and Alex that sparked his shipper heart to set sail. 
> 
> • Sophia: has been an intern for 2 years // she started the rumor mill that Strand and Alex make a good match // heavily interested in The Black Tapes podcast also one of the interns to stay late with Alex and Nic // she aspires to be a producer of a show
> 
> • Sarah: has been an intern for 2 years // has an irrational fear of being alone in a room with Dr. Strand (he makes her way too nervous that she becomes mute) // hardcore Stragan Shipper though // doesn't like working past 5pm and is usually the first out of the studio with Dave
> 
> • Anna: an intern for 4 years (she's doing her graduate studies in data journalism) // the head researcher within the interns, works closely with Alex // conjures most of the hijinks for Stragan Heist // harbors a tiny crush for Nic 
> 
> • Dave: an intern for 3 years // roped in by Sarah in the hilarity that is Stragan Heist // out of all the interns, he's seemingly the closest one to Dr. Strand (""closest"" is very loose as it just refers to them constantly talking in the break room discussing psychology) // if he's not at the studio, he's usually with Sarah
> 
> • Jonesy: the baby intern // he's 8 months into the internship and AJ and Anna care for him like mother hens // infectious positive attitude and usually picked on by Austin when they work late together // harbors a crush on Violet
> 
> • Violet: an intern for 2 years // sometimes the interns (besides Anna and Aj) are afraid of her because of "RBF" and when she's annoyed // Paul likes to make her do errands for the studio because of her quick pace // behind the hard exterior, she's a softy and is largely part of the Stragan Heist
> 
> • AJ: an intern for 4 years (gearing up for his phD, decided to come intern at PNWS because the pay was decent and the commute to his school was a big plus) // the eldest of the group but easily convinced to join in the hijinks // like Dave, he's also seen interacting with Dr. Strand whenever he's at the studio (3 months ago, they met up for coffee because AJ needed assistance with his application for his phD; Strand was the first to know when AJ got accepted to the program)
> 
> • Jake: an intern for almost 2 years // can be considered a baby of the group and sometimes Terry and Paul forgets that he's not the eldest just because of his height // his idolization of Alex can be mistaken as a crush but their bond is more sibling than romantic; Alex tells Jake that he reminds her of her brother // he's overprotective and it'll be demonstrated when the group goes on their annual camping trip


End file.
